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If you’ve been browsing our site recently, you may have noticed our new range of Rockers t-shirts in the Worn Free store and wondered what the story was behind them? These reggae- themed tees are inspired by the 1978 movie ‘Rockers.’ This amazing flick was directed by Ted Bafaloukos and started out as a documentary, which then morphed into a feature film starring some of the most famous names in reggae.

The characters, culture and mannerisms captured in the movie are an authentic reflection of Jamaican life at the time with many characters starring as exaggerated versions of themselves (OK, some of them weren’t even exaggerating) The plot is loosely based on a reggae interpretation of the Robin Hood story, where our hero Leroy ‘Horsemouth’ Wallace (as himself) distributes records via motorbike, to sound systems throughout Jamaica.

Other famous names on the bill include Gregory Isaacs, Dillinger and Burning Spear. It goes without saying that the soundtrack to this movie is legendary and if you haven’t seen it before, you may recognise some of the dialogue as it has been sampled many times and included in tracks by artists including Dreadzone, Insolence and Inner Terrestrials.

Although ultimately a feature film, when it comes to documenting the culture, it has been suggested that Rockers is to reggae what Wildstyle is to hip-hop. Check out this clip of the classic scene that prompted our ‘I Control the Fullness’ tee: Horsemouth storms the DJ booth at a party and locks himself in so he can play his own Rockers tunes. When the police (Babylon) arrive and try to eject him he refuses to budge, explaining “I and I Control the Fullness!” and miraculously the Babylon leave him alone.